Town hall seeks priorities from Crowsnest Pass residents

Crowsnest Pass residents were asked to help shape municipal priorities during a town hall focus group held June 16 at the Crowsnest Community Hall.

The session, which ran from 6 to 8 p.m., was described by Mayor Pat Rypien as the municipality’s first town hall meeting and a council-led initiative meant to gather ideas directly from residents. Approximately 46 people attended the open house.

“We are here to listen to you, to hear your thoughts and ideas,” said Rypien in her opening remarks.

Rypien said local government works best when residents are informed, engaged and involved in decisions that shape the municipality. She told those in attendance the goal was to leave the meeting with a prioritized list to help guide council as it works through upcoming decisions.

The town hall comes as the newly elected council begins its four-year term, starts strategic planning and prepares for budget discussions later this summer. Rypien said the municipality operates on an approximate budget of $13 million, with just over $800,000 already provided to community groups.

Kristin Colucci helped lead the session, telling residents the evening was designed to identify what people value about Crowsnest Pass and what areas they believe need improvement.

Participants were seated in small groups and asked to choose a recorder. The first round encouraged residents to “dream big” and brainstorm freely about what they love about living in Crowsnest Pass, what makes people stay or move to the community and what they would change if they could.

In the second round, each group narrowed its ideas to a top five list. Those priorities were then placed on the wall for a “dotmocracy” vote, where participants used dot stickers to identify the ideas that mattered most to them.

Colucci said residents could raise any idea, but the most productive suggestions would be items council can act on during its four-year term.

The handout given to participants outlined areas where council has direct control, including municipal property taxes, development permits, trails, recreation facilities and utilities. It also identified areas where council has influence but less direct authority, including health care, Highway 3 and education funding.

The worksheet encouraged participants to make broad concerns more specific. Examples included asking for more public consultation on apartment development in primarily R-1 residential areas, advocating for industries that diversify from mining and reduce industrial emissions, publishing an annual road resurfacing schedule and expanding youth programming at the MDM Gymnasium after school hours.

Other examples on the sheet included reassessing guide rezoning and multi-family development, lowering municipal taxes, building on indoor swimming pool discussions and using private corporation partnerships or grants to support recreation facilities.

The municipality also noted that specific service concerns, such as missed garbage pickup or maintenance issues, are best handled through regular reporting channels. Residents were directed to crowsnestpass.com/report-a-problem or the municipal office at 403-562-8833.

Rypien asked participants to keep the discussion constructive and focused on issues and ideas rather than individuals.

“Please share your ideas, discuss challenges and explore opportunities, but also think about what the priorities should be,” she said.

Staff were expected to tally the results and share the top priorities from the evening with participants before the meeting wrapped up.